As soon as the dogs sighted the camp they began barking wildly and tugging at the traces in their eagerness to reach it; and Larry, whose legs were flagging sadly, felt all weariness disappear in the excitement of finishing the run. So, shouting and laughing, with both dogs leaping and barking, the two teams raced into camp neck and neck.
They rested a few minutes, and then began making final preparations for an early start the next day. They visited the yacht and found that she was packed thick in a huge bank of ice that had formed upon her, and been banked about her by the waves, so that she was practically frozen in for the winter. Then they strengthened all the fastenings of the canvas under which the provisions and supplies were stored, and Martin cut several strips of canvas and tied them with short pieces of rope to trees a few feet away and all about the heap, where they would blow about in the wind and frighten any inquisitive prowlers, particularly foxes.
“But what is the use of going to all that trouble, Martin?” Larry asked. “We will never come back to this place, and probably no one else will come here, so all this work is for nothing it seems to me.”
The old hunter smiled and shook his head. “That’s the way I should have talked at your age,” he said. “But I have learned that many things in this world turn out very differently from what we expect, and so I always plan for the very worst that can possibly happen. And it will be a comfort for me to know that there is a big cache of supplies waiting here in case we have to come back, although I haven’t the faintest idea of doing so.”
When the canvasses had been secured to Martin’s satisfaction he made the fastenings all about their camp secure in the same way. For he had decided not to take their present tent with them, but in its place a smaller one, made with a stout canvas bottom sewed fast to the rest of the tent, so that the whole thing resembled a huge bag. There were several advantages in this arrangement. It provided a dry, clean floor, kept the wind from creeping in, and obviated the likelihood of losing small articles at the camp site that might otherwise be overlooked and left behind on breaking camp. Moreover, it insured the tent not being blown from over their heads in a gale should the fastenings give way—a very important thing when passing through a barren, windswept country.
Then they made a final inspection of the toboggan loads, unpacking them and re-packing them carefully, Martin enjoining the boy to memorize every article and where it could be found on each sledge. This would save them much useless hunting, and overhauling, and disarranging of the loads. And so when night came they were all ready for the early start the next morning.
At daylight they were off on their race for life—just how grim and serious an undertaking Larry was to learn before the day was over. For now it was plod, plod, plod, Martin setting the pace and breaking the trail, keeping up an even swing forward regardless of obstacles. Long before midday Larry realized the magnitude of their undertaking; for Martin allowed no pause, no resting to catch up lost breath. It was on, and on, every step ahead being counted precious gain through the unknown stretch of wilderness.
At noon they stopped, the dogs dropping in their tracks, and Larry stretched his aching legs on his load while Martin boiled a pot of tea and heated up their lunch. But in half an hour they were back in the harness again, trudging on silently. Even the dogs seemed to realize that they must do their utmost, straining at the traces all the time, with noses pointed straight ahead, but wasting no energy in useless looking about at interesting objects along the trail as they had always done on their previous journeys.
By the middle of the afternoon even the dogs showed signs of fatigue, as the loads were heavy, and despite every effort he could make, Martin’s speed was gradually slackening. By this time Kim was obliged to haul his load practically without aid from Larry, whose legs were tottering. Yet the boy pushed his feet ahead mechanically, watching the slowly descending sun, and hoping the old hunter would soon decide to stop for the night. But it was not until just before sunset that the old man halted and selected a place for their camp.
His first provision for the night was to help Larry set up the tent; then he took his snares and went off into the woods to set them, instructing Larry to get in a good supply of wood and a big heap of boughs for their bed. “We can cook and eat after dark, you know,” he said, “but these other things have to be done in daylight.”